SOS Family Support
in Greenfields-Anangpur

The SOS Family Support in Greefields-Anangpur, which is also supported by Esprit, not only covers the neighbourhood of the Greenfields SOS Children’s Village, but also stretches to several villages nearby. Around 1,100 children in the communities of Gurukul, Anangpur, Ghadhkhor, Dayalnagar, Palwal and Nuh are currently receiving support. In this rural region the infrastructure is rudimentary; there is a shortage of schools, kindergartens and healthcare.

The focus of SOS Family Support is mainly on the sponsorship of children and their families. Through education and reinforcing skills the aim is to support families and their communities to find ways of escaping poverty and to initiate developments themselves. Two stories report about the varied work of the Family Support:

Madhu is capable of giving her children a future again

In India the death of a husband is, for many women and their children, a double stroke of fate. As well as grieving for the loss of a much-loved relative many families also face great economic difficulties. Just like Madhu, a 32-year-old mother of two children. Before he died her husband provided for his family with his earnings from a job in a hotel and the four of them lived in a small rented apartment in Greenfields. But then Madhu’s husband died in a road accident. Unfortunately Madhu couldn’t rely on support from her family. As she had married her husband against their will, she was denied any kind of help.

Madhu found a job, with which she just managed to pay the rent and buy enough food for the family. But it was simply not enough to cover the children’s school fees, so after a while they had to leave school. Madhu suffered a lot as a result of this situation and tried to find ways to offer her children an education. She even contemplated giving her children up if it meant that they would have better chances of a future. In her distress she contacted the SOS Children’s Village in Greenfields and was accepted into the SOS Family Support programme. SOS employees quickly ensured that Madhu’s children returned to their schools and temporarily covered the costs. In different courses and in exchange with other mothers who share a similar fate, Madhu learnt to focus on her skills. She soon found a better-paid job. And she found the courage to face up to her parents and managed to improve her relationship with them. Madhu explains: “When we were at rock bottom we found ourselves all alone. The SOS workers were the only people who we could turn to and who helped us.” The social network of the family has now been extended. Madhu is now in a position to provide her children with a school education. And to be a good, strong mother.

The “school miracle”

Shonamati (15) and her brother Charan (13) had to grow up far too early. After the death of their parents they struggled through life alone. At first their grandmother took care of them. But when she died too, the children only had their neighbours who gave them food now and again or brought them to a doctor when they were ill. Shonamati and Charan worked on farms, which meant that they could at least earn something to eat and a small wage. But an education was something that they could only dream of.

Shonamati and Charan live in Palwal, a small village around 55 km outside of Delhi. In this region around 65% of the population make their living from agriculture. Within the framework of the Family Support programme the SOS Children’s Villages started up an educational project in order to enable the children there access to a basic education. As in many families the children have no chance of attending school, because their parents are unable to pay for books, learning materials and school fees.

An SOS worker heard about the fate of Shonamati and Charan at a meeting in the village. Together with the “Sarpanch”, the village chief, he visited the children. “What do you need and how can we work together to improve your future?” were questions that were always at the fore. For the two children it was clear: they definitely wanted to stay in their village. After all, this is where they have their parental home and the solidarity of their neighbours. But SOS Family Support is enabling the children something that Shonamati describes as a “real miracle”: instead of working in the fields, the two children are now going to school and learning with great enthusiasm. From SOS Family Support they receive books, school materials, school uniforms and fees are paid. In addition, the SOS employees managed to ensure that the children receive a small monthly orphan allowance, covering their basic needs. Later on Charan would like to study organic farming and learn more about the cultivation of crops. Shonamati says: “I had heard that miracles could happen. But in our case one really did.”